This application relates to manually advanced Sequencers, and an improved method of advancing through Steps in a Sequence.
Sequencers are most commonly under the control of an automated external timing source, such that the Sequence continually loops through the Steps at a rate determined by the timing source.
Automatic control of a Sequence is, however, not always desirable, and there exist methods of manually advancing through Sequencer Steps.
Current manual Sequencer Step advancement commonly takes the form of a triggering event via the pressing or releasing of an electromechanical momentary switch.
The present invention takes advantage of both discrete states of an electromechanical momentary switch and advances a Sequencer to a next Step in a Sequence upon each change of state (upon a press and again upon release).
The improvements provided by the -present invention are that it allows a far more efficient, intuitive, natural, and rhythmically flexible method of advancing a Sequencer, and requires 50% less motion while providing twice the speed of existing methods of manually advancing Sequencers using electromechanical momentary switches.
Musicians often use Sequencers to play a pre-programmed series of musical notes and/or to sequentially apply special effects to an audio signal. The present invention is particularly helpful in the context of a musical performance where the music is being played live and a musician wishes to synchronize his or her Sequencer with the sounds created by the other human accompanists whose timing is inherently variable. The ability to manually advance a Sequence in such an efficient and natural manner makes it simple for said musician to adjust to a shifting and dynamic tempo.